Jump to content

R44 down in Orlando


DizzyD

Recommended Posts

Sunday around 2pm..3 lives lost. RIP.

 

ORLANDO, FL (WFLA) -
A helicopter crashed into a home in Orlando Sunday afternoon causing a fire, WESH reported.

The crash happened near Alameda Street and Edgewater Drive in Northwest Orlando. The Orlando Fire Department confirmed that the pilot didn't survive the crash.

Fire officials told WESH that the helicopter crashed into a 2-story attached garage apartment at about 2:16 p.m.

The fire crews were at the scene within minutes and the fire was under control. Firefighters entered the heavily damaged home and found the pilot dead, WESH reported.

FAA officials said the helicopter was a Robinson R44. They haven't released any information about the flight's destination and the pilot's identity.

Stay with WFLA for more on this developing story.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah I saw this on the news last night, very sad. prayers to the Family.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Three people in an R-44 in Florida shouldn't add up to high GW and the density altitude was only about 1800 feet on Sunday at the time of the accident.

 

2 days ago 640 × 360 - wftv.com

 

Is this about where the blades have been coming apart? Hard to tell, I know, but the very clean break is suspicious and the leading edge also looks intact. The pilot asked to return to the airport only 3 minutes into the flight and crashed less than 2 minutes after that.

 

edit: The DA I originally posted was incorrect.

Edited by helonorth
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 C... that blows my mind right now. Its still in the single digits here in New England... (4° C right now, for example, at 11:16 am)

 

Anyways, that DA still isn't high. Not by my standards anyways.

 

That said, the picture you posted, helonorth... the failure appears to be inside the area to be inspected according to the Safety Alert that Robinson sent out before.

Edited by ridethisbike
Link to comment
Share on other sites

METAR KMCO 221753Z 26013KT 10SM FEW055 BKN250 31/17 A2998 RMK AO2 SLP150

 

This was 27 minutes before takeoff. If there was a DA issue, he probably would have a hard time hovering, not in cruise, although I don't know what they were doing at the time of the accident. Since he had asked to return to the airport, they were probably in cruise and (just a guess, don't shoot me) maybe experiencing a vibration.

 

The DA was actually a little over 2000'. Enough to cause a problem in a R-44? I don't know.

Edited by helonorth
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Three people in an R-44 in Florida shouldn't add up to high GW and the density altitude was only about 1800 feet on Sunday at the time of the accident.

 

2 days ago 640 × 360 - wftv.com

 

Is this about where the blades have been coming apart? Hard to tell, I know, but the very clean break is suspicious and the leading edge also looks intact. The pilot asked to return to the airport only 3 minutes into the flight and crashed less than 2 minutes after that.

 

edit: The DA I originally posted was incorrect.

 

That picture is why I asked if anyone knew if it was -7 blades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 C... that blows my mind right now. Its still in the single digits here in New England... (4° C right now, for example, at 11:16 am)

 

Anyways, that DA still isn't high. Not by my standards anyways.

 

I'm not to far south of Orlando. It's routinely in the mid 70s-mid 80s this time of year. It doesn't really get beyond the mid 90s. It's just that humidity that kills it!

 

That said, the picture you posted, helonorth... the failure appears to be inside the area to be inspected according to the Safety Alert that Robinson sent out before.

Edited by Flying Pig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I'm not to far south of Orlando. It's routinely in the mid 70s-mid 80s this time of year. It doesn't really get beyond the mid 90s. It's just that humidity that kills it!

 

 

 

I'm heading to AZ tomorrow for a wedding. I'm fulling expecting to be sweating bullets the instant I step off the plane...

 

 

Back on topic... Were there blades prior to the -7's that had an extended chord?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest pokey

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...